Date-stamped : 24 Feb94 - 10:30 Pakistan v New Zealand Test 3 24-28 Feb, 1994 Played at Lancaster Park, Christchurch ====> Day 1, 24 Feb 94 Setting: A cloudy day with a moderate north easterly breeze. Later on, the clouds lifted somewhat, and the forecast for the remaining four days is very good. This is the best wicket of the series. Hard, faster than Auckland and Wellington, and with a very true bounce. Only a small amount of grass was left on giving the bowlers help on the first day only, if at all. Plenty of runs for the strokeplayer, and very unlikely to break up on the final day. Batting will probably get easier and easier right to the end. Teams: Pakistan lost two players from the team that played in Wellington. Asif Mujtaba has a broken finger and was replaced by Atif Rauf. Shoaib must be wondering what he has to do to get a game, but the idea may have been to get Atif into form for the ODIs. Ata-ur-Rehman has a thigh injury and Aamir Nazir came in as third seamer. For New Zealand, Chris Pringle, in good form of late, dis- placed Richard de Groen whilst Blair Hartland was thrown into the firing line as opener in place of the shell-shocked Blair Pocock. There was a scare about skipper Ken Rutherford who was hit on the hand by Danny Morrison at net practice, but he was able to play, albeit in some discomfort. Play: When you`re down you`re down, and everything seems to go wrong. Like the first ball of the match. Rutherford, with his in- jured left hand, placed himself at mid-on, looking to hide a lit- tle. Morrison to Saeed Anwar: Short. Loosener, outside the off stump - attempted pull shot from Anwar that went low to Rutherford`s LEFT in the air. Result: Dropped catch. New Zealand never recovered from that during the whole of the first session. Worse was to come. In Morrison`s second over, Sohail got a defen- sive edge to Blain`s left and he didn`t get his glove anywhere near it. So a potential 2-12 became 0-120 at lunch. Too much of the bowling, particularly from Doull, was hittable to leg and there was a general air of "here we go again" about the proceed- ings. This is not to detract from the Pakistani batting. Sohail, a bit more circumspect than usual, scored by working the ball around the field and by running quick singles. He also had a nar- row squeak when Pringle failed to get under a top-edged hook that went for six, but just over the line. Anwar was recognisable as the batsman who made 169 at Wellington, but he didn`t play any of those pushes past the bowler for 4. His wristy shots square of the wicket were still very much in evidence. He is obviously a class player who will make stacks of runs in the future, but one gets the feeling that he will eventually be forced to go one step back to go forward again. He chases too many wide ones, and gen- erally plays a little too freely early on. He`s the sort of player who could have a bit of a "trot," particularly against, for example, South Africa who are strong in pace bowling. Whatever was said in the NZ dressing room at lunch must have stung. What a transformation - 0-120 before lunch, 5-87(?) between lunch and tea. This reversal of form was caused simply by the bowlers keeping it tight and letting the batsmen get them- selves out. There was very little in the pitch. Doull, and par- ticularly Pringle, achieved this right from the start. Anwar was out hitting across one from Doull that seamed away (taken high at slip by Young). Sohail was frustrated by Pringle and lost pati- ence at Doull`s end. He cut one straight to Hartland at gully. Atif Rauf looked a reasonable front foot player for a while without ever threatening to take the attack apart. On 16 he got a regulation edge to slip off Morrison. Later on in the session there were a couple more wickets for NZ. Malik left a convenient gap for Hart to sneak through and was bowled, whilst Inzamam played away from his body to Doull and was taken at slip. This was just before tea, which came at 5-207(?). But the final session belonged to Pakistan. Basit Ali, who had come in at 5 found a good partner in Rashid Latif. Rashid, with his very wide stance, is a very good front foot cover driver and he helped Basit add 49 before being deceived by a slow floater from Thomson. He chased it, and spooned it out to Hart- land at cover. Wasim didn`t last long, getting a Morrison bouncer but not getting out of the way, but Akram Raza (27*) saw it through to stumps with Basit Ali. Basit Ali is another of those players who gives the bowler a chance. He had lives today, two in one over from Pringle. Rutherford couldn`t quite bring himself to have a full cordon and this made both chances to Young a lot harder than they might have been. One went past him to his right. The other passed between him and the keeper wide to his (Young`s) left and with the keeper not able to reach it. But Basit Ali hit some in- credible shots today. Two pick-ups off his legs off Morrison went over square leg for six. Then he charged Doull and lofted him over EXTRA-COVER for six. He also hit some more orthodox stuff through the covers off either foot. He was good value for his 98* but NZ, and Morrison, thought they had him plumb lbw just before tea. Umpire Francis thought otherwise. At 7-334, overall honours were shaded by Pakistan but NZ are still well in the game. This wicket, plus the likely still atmos- pheric conditions tomorrow, could well suit Waqar for a change. He will get value from both pace and swing and could be a real handful for the NZ batsmen. The wicket will also suit the strokeplayers in the NZ batting lineup. Looking forward to seeing this sorted out. Contributed by GeoffB (srlnser@*.gns.CRi.NZ) ====> Day 2, 25 Feb 94 Conditions, both weather and pitch, the same as yesterday with everything to play for. A very nervous Basit Ali, who had hardly slept all night, needed just 2 for his maiden test hundred. New Zealand desperately needed to wrap the innings up quickly. In the event, both ended up happy. Basit, on 99, attempted a quick single wide of cover but Thomson, fielding well, threw down the striker's wicket. Raza, well out, had given up the chase, but umpire Francis didn't even call for the third umpire in giving that not out. But it didn't matter. The remaining three wickets were obtained very cheaply with Morrison ending up with 4 for the innings. The New Zealand innings was a very strange affair. After a typical start when Hartland cut in the air straight to point off Waqar, Young and Jones settled in well and began to score at will. Jones, in particular, with 50 in 46 balls took the attack to W&W who loooked to get him with the short one. Malik also plugged his favourite point/cover area for some time, so much so that Jones had to improvise to score. He scored quite a number of runs past the bowler, straight, as well as his usual cover shots off the back foot. He also played the hook well, despite the attentions of the Pakistan attack in that area. Young, a player with similar strengths if not of the same quality, provided excellent back up. They got to lunch at 1-78, seemingly in control. But a couple of things happened in that first session which were an omen of what was to come. As early as the 5th over, Wasim Akram thought the ball was going out of shape and he showed the ball to the umpires after Young had smashed it into the concrete wall with a cut to point. Then the odd one was seen to loop in to the batsman, particularly the yorkers which were catching Young creasebound. After lunch, the scoring slowed markedly and Nazir was starting to get some prodigious inswing. By holding the ball the other way, he also had an outswinger at his disposal, but not swinging as much. Eventually, Young was out. A Nazir in-ducker hit him on the pads once too often, and he was adjudged lbw to a ball which was clearly going down the leg side. This poor decision at 109 started a very big collapse. Nazir is not a bad bowler. As well as the swing, he bowls at about Danny Morrison's pace, getting through at around the high 120s. With Rutherford now in, came the sequence of events that transformed the innings. Wasim, still not happy about the ball, called in Malik and the umpires again. Rutherford felt they should get on with the game, and let his feelings be known. With Waqar now on, Rutherford kept up a verbal barrage for some time but this only served to spur Waqar on. He bowled a spell which ripped the entire middle order apart. He got one through to Rutherford at 138kph - faster than anything we'd yet seen on the tour, but it was that swing which was the real penetrative weapon. He bowled three or four overs in succession in which the batsman could expect either a huge inswinging yorker, or an equally lethal away swinger, both bowled at blistering pace. Rutherford and Thomson were dispatched by catches in the cordon to the outswing, whilst Blain had no show against the yorker. With Wasim backing up at the other end, and removing Greatbatch lbw in the process, there was absolutely no let up right to the end of the innings. The ability of these two to put a prodigiously swinging ball on the spot ball after ball was incredible. It was generally understood that the condition of the ball was discussed with the umpire and match referee at the tea interval, but no details of any outcome of those talks are available as yet. Mind you, in the midst of all this mayhem, Andrew Jones carried on in his own inimitable way. Not in his pre-lunch style of course, but very circumspectly. It was no surprise that nobody could get him out. He called for a very poorly judged run and was out at the bowler's end from a direct hit by Salim Malik. His 81 was a lesson to all that test scores have to be worked for. Towards the end of the innings, the swing lessened again, but by then it was immaterial. The tail were no match for these bowlers, and all of them went bowled or lbw to full length deliveries. Other than Young's, the other three lbw decisions given in the innings were all plumb. New Zealand clawed a little back at the end of the day when Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail each chased wide ones once too often early in their innings. Morrison got one, and Doull the other. Contributed by GeoffB (srlnser@*.gns.CRi.NZ) ====> Day 3, 26 Feb 94 New Zealand continued the upward curve at all stages of today's play. The pitch remained as it was on day one, if slightly browner, but the weather had changed considerably. Clouds and drizzle lingered on right through until midday until the sou'westerly change came in. When play started at midday it was considerably colder than on the first two days. Doull picked up the early wicket of Atif, playing defensively and caught low down by Young at second slip. At 3-26, New Zealand were looking to roll Pakistan very cheaply until disaster struck. Doull had to go off with a recurrence of his side strain and was unavailable to bowl again all day. With only four bowlers, one of these a part- time off spinner, Rutherford had little choice but to rotate Pringle and Morrison downwind and use the two spinners into it for most of the day. All of which was a blessing in disguise, because that gave Matthew Hart a long bowl, three wickets, and a bagful of confidence for the future. On this track, any slow left armer would be proud of 3-47 off 18 but Hart was only in his second test and under heaps of pressure. Bowling with varied trajectory, the flighted ones were always a problem, whether drifting into the pads or not. The flatter ones were always likely to turn a fraction, especially if bowled at that tantalising length which put the batsman in two minds as to whether to go forward or back. A very important part of his game is that he doesn't panic if someone gets after his attacking well flighted stuff. Today, he started with a typical sla's wicket when Raza was beaten by flight and spin and was hopelessly stranded down the track. Later, he was able to get a full-length one to stop a little, which induced Rashid to give a return catch. His 3rd wicket was left hander Wasim who was bowled through the gate when looking to attack. Hart still has a tendency to bowl one bad ball an over - especially a full toss, but nevertheless has the ability and temperament for an extended run in the team. To cap a great day, he threw down the striker's wicket to run out the dangerous Basit Ali at a time when Basit was threatening to take the game well out of New Zealand's reach. The natural left-hander at cover is always a good ploy. Hart was ably supported by all the others who bowled, and it was good to see Danny Morrison back in the wickets, even if the batsmen did get themselves out. It was critical that nobody bowled badly, and rolling Pakistan for 179 was a lot better than they could have legitimately expected with a depleted attack. But the Pakistani batting effort was not good today. With three days to play they could have dug in and given New Zealand no chance in the final session against a tiring attack. Salim Malik epitomised the general indecision in the play. He was in great form, really, and was playing circumspectly off the front foot looking in no trouble at all. All of a sudden he went off the rails in this Morrison over, playing and missing with attacking shots outside off a couple of times, then cutting one deliberately uppishly over the slips when there was a third man in (who, of course, caught it). Even Inzamam, who has looked like maturing recently, hit a horribly mistimed pull shot to square leg. It was Basit Ali who held the innings together, not for the first time in the series, but, as always, he gave the bowlers a chance. He has scored prolifically against New Zealand, but looks like he is due for a run of outs. Apparently, he is a great admirer of Javed Miandad and some of his pushes out to leg are very reminiscent of Javed. If Hart hadn't managed that good throw, Basit may have put the game out of NZ's reach. One always had the impression that Pakistan felt they had enough runs anyway, but that 179 score left only 324 to win. New Zealand knocked off 9 of those without incident before bad light rendered the 1 hour added on at the end totally useless. So, 315 more to win in two days. Please, someone send NZ a fax telling them they have no chance :-) Contributed by GeoffB (srlnser@*.gns.CRi.NZ) ====> Day 4, 27 Feb 94 Yes. New Zealand were batting at the start of the day; they were batting at the end of it; play took place all day; Wasim and Waqar bowled 55 overs between them for 156 runs; the ball used for this innings reverse swung in the middle stages. Yet New Zea- land, at stumps, were 4-277! So how come the two Ws bowled so badly today? The answer is simple. They didn't bowl badly at all - in fact they bowled very well, particularly early on. During the first two sessions, the two Ws bowled hardly a sin- gle ball that didn't need to be played. Let's go back to the be- ginning: NZ was 0-9 overnight and looking for a solid start from Young and Hartland. But it wasn't too long before Hartland edged one from Wasim to Inzamam at 2nd slip. Hartland didn't give it away today, he just got a good one that swung away a shade. With Jones in, NZ were in the same position as they were in the first in- nings. Jones played well, Young gave him support, and they got to lunch at about 70-odd for only 1. To still further follow the 1st innings pattern, there were more queries about the shape of the ball. Given what happened in the middle session on Friday with a similar ball, the future for the NZ innings today seemed bleak. When Jones was run out immediately afterwards without addi- tion - in EXACTLY the same manner as in the first innings, and with that ball really starting to go, the middle order seemed about to disintegrate. With this having been Jones' last test in- nings, the entire Pakistan team gathered in the middle, in a semi-circle, to applaud him off the field. The middle order did disintegrate too. Rutherford and Greatbatch got the worst of the swinging overs and capitulated easily. Rutherford, who at least looked reasonably likely, was out to a ball from Wasim that pitched on middle and leg and straightened. There was an element of doubt looking at the replay, but he can have no real complaint about the decision. At this stage it WAS Wasim who was bowling better. Greatbatch was totally at sea against Waqar. He was able to keep out the inswinging yorkers, but the big booming banana leaves the left hander. Greatbatch never got any- where near most of them. Eventually he decided to get what he could when he could, but lasted only a few balls after that. He was predictably caught at slip by Inzamam off Waqar. During this period, Bryan Young stood firm. He isn't the most talented batsman in test cricket, but when he gets out there he does at least realise he is in a test match. This was his pay off day. Like Jones, he waits to play the off side back foot shots he knows he can, and works the ball round the field for his bread and butter. That's one of the key points about this reverse swing. It is critical that one, and preferably two, well-set players are at the crease to combat it. The Jones run-out was a disaster because it brought new players to the crease just at the wrong time. Shane Thomson would not be most people's first choice for a player to go out there and combat it from scratch. But those be- fore him did just enough and, slowly but surely, the conditions eased while he was at the wicket. NZ was fortunate to lose only three wickets during the danger period. The question then became did they have enough wickets left to get up and win the game? At tea NZ was 4-163 with the Thomson - Young partnership at 30 runs just starting to prosper. Just half way to the target of 324. That was it for Pakistan really. The reverse swing overs were over, and the main strike bowlers were getting tired. Young, and particularly Thomson, prospered in the easier conditions of the third session. Young brought up a maiden test 100 during the first over of the new ball, whilst Thomson scored 76 runs in the session off 34 overs. Waqar peppered him with the short stuff, just about the only ploy left really, and had a measure of suc- cess for a while. But the wicket was too true and predictable for the bowlers to get anything out of it. Thomson was confident enough to hit the spinners over the top on several occasions. Tomorrow is not a foregone conclusion. With a fresh attack to combat, and with batsmen out there who know they have already done well, there is still the potential for a disaster. Against this, Thomson will be keen to complete a maiden century. Also, with only 8 overs having been bowled with the new ball and with only 47 needed, NZ should, if they are good enough, be able to knock these off before the reverse swing comes into play. Odds very much with NZ, at least 75/25. The weather will not be a fac- tor. Contributed by GeoffB (srlnser@*.gns.CRi.NZ) ====> Day 5, 28 Feb 94 NZ won by five wickets. Pakistan win the series 2-1. Notes: 1. NZ have never been as much as 144 runs behind on the First innings and won. 2. Thomson's 100 came off 146 balls. In an earlier interview Salim Malik commented that there is not much difference between the two sides except Waqar and Wasim and as soon as they were contained NZ would have a chance of winning. He has been proved correct. In his victory speech Rutherford paid personal tribute to Andrew Jones who retir es after 37 Tests, scoring 2898 runs at an average of 46.00. He was run out in both innings of his final Test, a wry fact considering he has been possibly the worst runner between wickets I have seen. Contributed by Howard.Silby (howard@aqua.isor.vuw.ac.nz)